Stewardship of Life

Our ministry visible and invisible

By Ronald Keener, May 20, 2010

Dear Member of Faith Church:

It has always seemed to be that there are two churches at Faith: the visible church and the invisible church.

The visible church is the church best known week by week. For some the visible church may be only the Sunday morning worship. For another, it may be church school because we have children, and morning worship. Another person may be involved in WELCA or a small group, and that is the church that is best known and visible to them.

In other words, each of us has our own routine of involvement within the congregation, but seldom venture outside those particular activities. That is the visible church, the part that is very familiar.

Then there is the invisible church, the many other programs that are available, but may not directly touch our own lives. We may not be very familiar with them, but they still exist for others for whom they fill a need, or serve others, or extend the message of the gospel.

Over the course of years, what is visible and invisible to you and me may depend on our circumstances, interests, or place in life at the time. The visible church is only a small portion of what Faith Church brings to its members. There is much more!

We again are at the time of year when we ask each member and family to pledge support for the church. This year our theme and message is under the banner of “Making Christ Known.”

I ask you to give prayerful thought to the church’s message, “Making Christ Known”, and how Faith Church works daily in that adventure for Christ. Discuss within your family how Faith Church makes a difference in your lives and others it touches. Consider the church’s activities most visible to you, and those that touch lives that may be less known to you. Both the visible and invisible activities of Faith need your financial support in its mission of “Making Christ Known.”

© Copyright 1996, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
This essay first appeared in the Summer 1996 issue of Faith in Action. Articles in Faith in Action may be reproduced for use in ELCA and ELCIC congregations provided each copy carries the note:
© Copyright 1996, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Reprinted with permission.

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is an article from the archives of the Lutheran Laity Movement for Stewardship. For nearly a century, LLM assisted, inspired and trained congregations in important ways. LLM ceased operations on May 31, 2003, but the Stewardship of Life Institute is proud to continue its work by making its web resources available to a new generation of stewards.